The Simpsons (season 16)

The Simpsons' sixteenth season (November 7, 2004 – May 15, 2005) began on Sunday, November 7, 2004 and contained 21 episodes, beginning with Treehouse of Horror XV. The season contains six hold-over episodes from the season 15 (FABF) production line. Season 16 was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1 on December 3, 2013, Region 2 on December 2, 2013, and Region 4 on December 11, 2013.

Response

Critical reception

The 16th season of The Simpsons has garnered generally positive reviews from critics, with many noting while the episodes are still good and funny they are of a lesser quality than those of the show's earlier seasons. CraveOnline gave the season a rating of 8.0 out of 10, and spoke highly of its "little pieces of continuity", "sharp parody", and "non sequitur gags".[3] Entertainment Focus gave it 4 out of 5 stars, concluding "Some people have criticised The Simpsons claiming that the show is tired and has passed its prime. We don't agree with those people at all and think The Simpsons has been remarkably consistent in terms of its humour and stories. Sure it may have been eclipsed by the edgier Family Guy in more recent years but The Simpsons is, and always will be, one of the most original and talked-about shows. The Simpsons: Season 16 is another cracking instalment of the hit show and we still, after all these years, just can't get enough.[4] High-Def Digest also gave a 4/5 star rating, saying "As mentioned in the review, there are plenty of laughs to be had in this season, but very few of them come from a place that feels truly genuine and sincere. Sixteen seasons in, it seems that the show is a mixture of been-there-done-that sentiment and perfunctory punch lines. Aside from the so-so image, there's plenty here to keep the die-hard 'Simpsons' fan happy, so this one comes recommended for fans".[5] Cinema Sentries said "This is not something to pick up if you are a general TV fan, or a casual Simpsons fan. The overall quality of the season is not high enough, and you may not get satisfactory enjoyment from them. If you sort of turned your back on the show, this probably isn't the season to check out. However, if you are a Simpsons devotee, then you will want to pick it up".[6] DVDTalk wrote "The Simpsons: Season Sixteen isn't the best of the series' run but it is a very strong collection of truly funny and frequently quite clever doses of animated comedic insanity."[7]

Episodes

The Ned Zone – Ned Flanders suffers a head injury that gives him the power to foresee doom a la Christopher Walken from The Dead Zone.Four Beheadings with a Funeral – Lisa and Bart investigate the murders of Victorian-era England's most prolific prostitutes.In the Belly of the Boss – The Simpsons go on a fantastic voyage through Mr. Burns's body to rescue Maggie after she gets shrunk down into a pill and ingested.[12]

Marge resorts to sabotage as payback on the contestants who sabotaged her food entry for a cook-off. Meanwhile, Homer finds his old issues of Playdude in the ceiling, which Bart finds (after Marge cuts out all of the centerfolds and other nude photos) and uses as a guide on how to live the bachelor life.[14]Guest stars: James Caan, Thomas Pynchon and Amy Stiller

Marge bumps into an old high-school acquaintance who is now a successful news reporter. While Marge becomes jealous of her friend's success and wonders what may have been had she not stayed with Homer, Lisa becomes inspired by this new, strong woman.[18]Guest star: Kim Cattrall

Bart becomes depressed about growing older after losing his last baby tooth, and, following advice from Lisa, deals with his problems by writing ironic slogans on T-shirts. Meanwhile, Homer tries to help Lisa make a science project after Bart cuts Homer out of helping him sell T-shirts.[20]Guest star: Eric Idle

Mr. Burns cancels the nuclear plant's prescription pill plan, prompting Homer and Grampa to smuggle prescription pills in from Canada to medicate the town. Mr. Burns soon regrets his actions when his faithful assistant Smithers suffers from a goiter and joins Homer and Grampa on one last heist.[22]

When Moe's Tavern is shut down by the health department, Homer takes out a second mortgage without consulting Marge to finance the bar's return, but Marge finds out and decides to protect her investment by becoming Moe's business partner and renovating the tavern into a pub.[24]

Bart fakes his own kidnapping to get out of being punished for going to a rap concert, but the ruse goes too far when Milhouse's father is implicated as the kidnapper and Chief Wiggum sees this as an opportunity to make a name for himself as a competent police officer.[28]Guest star: 50 Cent

Homer becomes a minister after Springfield legalizes gay marriage (to boost their damaged reputation for tourists) and Pattycomes out of the closet, much to the shock of her sister, Marge, who was naive to her sister's sexuality.[30]

After years of tolerating his antics, Lisa files a restraining order against Bart, forcing him to live in the backyard. Meanwhile, Homer becomes a greeter for a Walmart-esque department store called "Sprawl-Mart".Guest star: Gary Busey[32]

The Simpsons are going to China, after Selma (who recently began menopause) lists Homer as her husband in order to adopt a Chinese baby (while Marge poses as Selma and Homer's live-in nanny).[34]Guest stars: Lucy Liu and Robert Wagner

After Homer buys an RV with the family's insurance money, Marge kicks him out of the house and Bart and Lisa, who worry their parents may get divorced, drive the RV back to the dealers to make sure it does not break up their family.[36]

Through Professor Frink's future machine, Bart and Lisa see their lives in the year 2013, where Bart steals Lisa's chances at going to an Ivy League school in order to impress a skater girl named Jenda while Homer (now separated from Marge and living in an underwater apartment) fights Krusty the Clown after Marge begins dating him.[40]Guest stars: Amy Poehler and John DiMaggio

Sick of being unwanted, Homer befriends a man who works as a roofer. However, no one else can see him and Homer's insistence that the roofer does exist prompts everyone to think he has gone crazy.[42]Guest stars: Ray Romano and Stephen Hawking

Springfield Elementary signs a deal with a snack company to install vending machines in the schools—with Bart taking advantage of the situation to the point that he becomes obese and suffers a heart attack.[44]Guest star: Albert Brooks

Homer sees a movie about the end of the world and fears the same thing will happen in real life after seeing a chain of random occurrences (celebrities ["stars"] falling from the sky, raining blood, a man in a realistic devil costume) and doing a complicated math equation that predicts the end will come on May 18th, but when the end does not come, Homer discovers a flaw in the equation and ends up in Heaven where he meets God and learns that God is planning The Rapture.[47]

Flanders rents a room to two college girls who, without his knowledge, use the spare room to broadcast live softcore pornographic web videos of themselves. Upset that no one in town told him this (and that Homer was the one who told everyone), Ned moves to the seemingly perfect town of Humbleton, Pennsylvania, while a brash coach moves into Flanders' house and begins harassing Homer the same way Homer harassed Ned.[48]Guest star: Jason Bateman

Bart gets expelled from school and transfers to a Catholic school, where a hip priest named Father Sean tries to convert Bart and Homer to Catholicism, which worries Marge when she believes that Catholics do not go to the same heaven as Protestants and discovers that Catholic women do not use birth control.[50]Guest star: Liam Neeson

Blu-ray and DVD release

The DVD and Blu-ray boxset for season sixteen was released by 20th Century Fox in the United States and Canada on Tuesday, December 3, 2013, eight years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the Blu-ray and DVD releases feature bonus material including deleted scenes, animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The boxart features Professor Frink, and a special limited edition "embossed head case" package was also released.

External links

"A Star Is Torn" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 8, 2005. Fantasia Barrino guest stars as Clarissa Wellington.

"All's Fair in Oven War" is the second episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 14, 2004. In the episode, Marge gets her kitchen remodeled and the dishes she makes inside it get rave reviews. The suggestion of Ned Flanders leads her to enter a cooking contest. However, Marge realizes the competition is harder than it seems. Meanwhile, Bart finds Homer's vintage Playdude magazines and decides to adopt the lifestyle he sees within the articles.

Matt Selman wrote the episode, and Mark Kirkland served as director. Thomas Pynchon and James Caan guest starred as themselves. The episode features cultural references to songs such as "Separate Ways", "Boplicity", and "Take Five", as well as references to the film The Godfather and various fictional food mascots. The episode received positive reviews from critics.

"Don't Fear the Roofer" is the sixteenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 1, 2005, and guest-stars comedian Ray Romano. The episode is a parody of the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind.

"Fat Man and Little Boy" is the fifth episode of the 16th season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 12, 2004.The episode was directed by Mike B. Anderson and written by Joel H. Cohen.

"Future-Drama" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. The 350th episode overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 17, 2005. In the episode, Bart and Lisa stumble into Professor Frink's basement, and he gives them a look into their future as teenagers as they get ready for their high school graduation. Matt Selman wrote the episode, and Mike B. Anderson served as director. Amy Poehler and John DiMaggio guest-starred as the characters of Jenda and Bender respectively.

"Goo Goo Gai Pan" is the twelfth episode from the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 13, 2005. The episode focuses on Selma Bouvier adopting a Chinese orphan after experiencing menopause. Lucy Liu guest stars. The original closing credits feature the show's director David Silverman giving viewers a quick lesson on how he draws Bart Simpson. The episode was banned in the People's Republic of China.

"Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" is the eighth episode of season 16 of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2005. It is a Super Bowl-themed episode that was broadcast after Super Bowl XXXIX.

This is the first episode in which Comic Book Guy's real name, Jeff Albertson, is revealed to the audience.

"Midnight Rx" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 16, 2005.The episode was written by Marc Wilmore and directed by Nancy Kruse.

"Mobile Homer" is the thirteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on March 20, 2005. In the episode, Marge saves money for life insurance, worried about Homer after a near-fatal incident and his bad medical history. Angered by his wife's new measures to cut back financially, Homer spends the savings on a motor home, which he spends most of his time in and causes a rift between them.

The episode was written by Tim Long, and was the first to be directed by Raymond S. Persi.

"Mommie Beerest" is the seventh episode of season 16 of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 30, 2005.The episode was directed by Mark Kirland and written by Michael Price.

"On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 6, 2005. A repeat of this episode also replaced the episode The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star, which was supposed to air on April 10, 2005, due to the death of Pope John Paul II 8 days earlier.

"Pranksta Rap" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 13, 2005. It guest stars 50 Cent as himself, and Dana Gould as Barney Fife. Boots Riley of the rap group The Coup provided the score, although he did not write any lyrics.

"She Used to Be My Girl" is the fourth episode in the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 5, 2004.It features actress Kim Cattrall from Sex and the City.

"Sleeping With the Enemy" is the third episode from the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 21, 2004. In the episode, Marge Simpson finds Nelson and acts as a mother figure towards him due to her children's loss of interest in her. Meanwhile, Lisa gets teased about her big butt, and becomes obsessed with her weight.

To date, this is Jon Vitti's last episode as writer and Lauren MacMullan's last episode as director.

"Thank God, It's Doomsday" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 8, 2005. Al Jean claims that the recorded commentary for this episode was the last time he saw Don Payne, the writer credited for the episode.

"The Heartbroke Kid" is the seventeenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. It was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and directed by Steven Dean Moore. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 1, 2005. Albert Brooks guest stars in the episode, playing the character Tab Spangler, as well as briefly reprising Jacques from Life in the Fast Lane.

"The Heartbroke Kid" is the 352nd episode in the program's history and was broadcast straight after the 351st episode, "Don't Fear the Roofer", on the Fox network in the United States.

"Treehouse of Horror XV" is the first episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 2004. In the fifteenth annual Treehouse of Horror, Ned Flanders' head injury gives him the power to predict others' deaths, Bart and Lisa play detective when a string of Victorian-era prostitutes are murdered by Jack the Ripper, and the Simpsons go on a fantastic voyage inside Mr. Burns' body to save Maggie. It was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by David Silverman. Around 11.29 million Americans tuned in to watch the episode during its original broadcast.

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